Jason Jones, a defensive end, signs with the Detroit Lions and is seen at the Detroit Lions Training Facility in Allen Park, Mich. on Wednesday, March 13, 2013. / KIMBERLY P. MITCHELL/DFP

Written by

Anthony Kuehn

Detroit Free Press Special Writer

Anthony Kuehn is the editor of the Detroit Lions blog Lions Gab. His opinions do not necessarily reflect those of the Detroit Free Press nor its writers. Get in touch with Anthony at lionsgab@gmail.com or on Twitter @lionsgab.

The Lions made a much bigger splash in the early stages of free agency than I had expected. With minimal cap room and no Stafford extension in sight, I figured the Lions would allow the initial market to play out, focus on resigning their own free agents and then look for value in the second phase of free agency.

Instead, the Lions created cap space by restructuring Ndamukong Suh's deal and letting Cliff Avril walk. While the restructure freed up enough money to make the moves the Lions made, it pushed even more money into the future increasing the financial bind the Lions will find themselves in next year. It did put them in a better spot to address their needs this year, so hopefully all the moves they made work out and the cap issues for next year will be worth it.

Iím going to breakdown each of the Lionsí transactions and analyze the impact of the signing for the 2013 season.

Re-signed T Corey Hilliard: The Lions brought back Corey Hilliard a few days before free agency opened and he was promised a chance to compete for a starting position. As it stands right now, he will be competing with Jason Fox for the right tackle position. Hilliard is a versatile backup that can play four positions on the line, so even if he loses the competition to start, he is a great value.

Signed P Blake Clingan: The Lions have a huge need for a punter, especially one that can boom his kicks. The Lions have had weak legged punting for years and it has really hampered their performance. The Lions would like the new punter to be able to kickoff as well, but I havenít been able to track anything down on their specific plan for Clingan in that regard.

Re-signed LB DeAndre Levy: Levy is a frustrating player to evaluate because of his inconsistencies. He looked like the next great young linebacker in his rookie year and then he took a big step in his second season flashing game changing potential. He turned the tide of the Packer game with a huge pick in the red zone and then sealed a win against the Dolphins with an interception returned for a touchdown. He was one of the catalysts for the 4-0 run that closed out the 2010 season. However, the last two seasons he has been very inconstant, as his splash plays have dwindled and his run defense has declined. He still has a lot of upside and the Lions chose to bring him back over the more consistent Justin Durant. They are rolling the dice that Levy can iron out the inconsistencies and offer more of the big plays that the linebacking corps has been lacking.

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Tendered T Jason Fox: Fox is all potential and almost no production to this point in his career, but the Lions need to find out if he can play. He will compete for a starting job this season, at either right tackle, right guard or left tackle. Fox is a restricted free agent so he is inexpensive and he has a lot to prove before hitting unrestricted free agency next season. I like his chances to beat Hilliard out for the right tackle spot, only if he can stay healthy.

Tendered DE Willie Young: The pressure is on Willie Young as the Lions let Avril walk and bumped Youngís tender up to a second round designation. The Lions are counting on him and they obviously felt that some team may be willing to come after him if they only needed to cough up a 7th rounder to get him. If the Lions were that concerned, that tells me that they are looking at him as a starter this season, probably at right end. I think he has a good chance of being a breakout player this season. He flashed a ton of playmaking ability in the preseason in 2012 and made some big plays in 2011. I donít have a good explanation why his performance dropped off last season, but he has the ability to be a key contributor and I think new defensive line coach Jim Washburn will do wonders for him.

Re-signed ST Kassim Osgood: Osgood was a fantastic addition to the special teams unit and he really stabilized the unit after the rough start to the season. He is purely a special teamer so donít expect any other contributions on offense.

Resigned S Amari Spievey: The Lions worked out a contract with Spievey rather than tendering him because of the risk he carries after suffering yet another concussion. They negotiated a low risk contract and he will have to prove he is able to stay healthy after a series of concussions. At this point, Spievey is competing for a backup position at safety and time on the special teams units.

Resigned CB Chris Houston: Lions fans wanted the Lions to address the cornerback position and retaining Houston was the best way to do so. I have been saying for months that you donít build a defense around cornerbacks and the free agent market has proven that. The market was flooded and teams didnít hand out big money to any of the free agents despite the league being so pass heavy. The Lions were able to take that cool market and use it as leverage to do a reasonable deal with Chris Houston. Houston is a better corner than most people understand and he has improved every year since the Lions acquired him. The Lions started having Houston shadow the opponentsí best receiver no matter where they lined up and Houston still had his best season. He will anchor the cornerback position while a draft pick or one of last yearís rookies compete to start across from him.

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Signed DE/DT Jason Jones: Jones is a tough player to draw a bead on because he is so versatile. In Tennessee he was a pass rushing defensive tackle and he experienced a lot of success despite being undersized for the position. He got more playing time at defensive end and wasnít as impactful in his remaining time in Tennessee and his year in Seattle. The Lions are going to move him around from the sound of it and he will get playing time at defensive tackle in obvious passing situations. I donít know if they plan on moving Suh and Fairley around or give them occasional breathers on passing downs, but they obviously have a plan for Jones. I donít think the plan will be set until after the draft when the bulk of player acquisition will be over.

Signed RB Reggie Bush: Bush was the priority for the Lions once free agency opened and they achieved that goal. Bush will be the starter in a Jahvid Best role, meaning he will catch passes out of the backfield and carry the ball out of the shotgun. He will probably get 18-20 touches a game with Mikel Leshoure and Joique Bell handling the rest of the carries. Best gives the Lions another big play threat on offense to help take the pressure off of Calvin Johnson. Jahvid Best, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford only played five total games together and they were 5-0 in those games and Calvin Johnson had nine touchdowns in those games. Bush will be the key to the Lions offense, but they need to make sure to monitor his usage. Bush set career highs in carries the last two seasons and stayed healthy, but he had injury issues in New Orleans and he has about two seasons before his age starts becoming a factor. Weíve seen what happens to the offense without that other big play threat, so keeping Bush healthy will be paramount.

Signed S Glover Quin: Quin is to the defense what Bush is to the offense, a missing piece that will allow the Lions to do things they werenít able to do without him. The Lions secondary issues have been blamed on the cornerbacks, but the issue has been the safety position. When the Lions won their last four games of the 2010 season they were starting street free agents at cornerback but Louis Delmas and Amari Spievey were both healthy. Since that run, both players have had issues staying on the field and it has shown in the pass defenseís decline. The safety position is far more important than fans realize which is why Quinís signing is so impactful. Quin is a converted cornerback who has elite man coverage skills for a safety and he can cover a lot of ground in zone defenses. He is also a leader and he has been durable, which will provide stability in the locker room and hopefully on the field as well. With Quin and Delmas patrolling the secondary the Lions wonít have to play so passively at cornerback. The Lions have played a lot of soft zone coverage to avoid giving up big plays because they didnít have faith in the patchwork safety group to be able to make plays, Quinís signing should alleviate those concerns.

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Resigned C/G Dylan Gandy: Gandy is a versatile backup at all three interior offensive line positions and he will have his work cut out for him this year. With Rodney Austin, Bill Nagy and potentially Riley Reiff at guard and Nagy and Dominic Raiola at center, Gandy is going to have an uphill battle to earn a roster spot.

Resigned S Louis Delmas: Delmas is the heart and soul of the defense and his absences have hindered the Lionsí secondary the last two years. He hasnít been completely healthy in over a year, so counting on him would be foolish. However, if his knee issues are behind him, the Lions have assembled one of the best safety pairings in the NFL.

Retirement of T Jeff Backus: Fans have underappreciated Jeff Backus to epic levels for the entirety of his career. He will go down as the most unappreciated Lion in the history of the team. He was a 12 year rock at left tackle, missing only one game in his career, and while he was never spectacular, he was solid. He was the best run blocker on the line and rarely received help blocking some of the best pass rushers in the league. Outside of a couple of teams that have true franchise left tackles, any GM in the NFL would have taken 12 years of Jeff Backus manning the blind side. His retirement is a blow to the team, no matter what fans want to believe.

The Lions were active in the opening week of the league year, but they did not spend foolishly or lavishly like the Colts and Dolphins. They aggressively targeted a couple of players and landed them with decent contracts. There were losses and the team has plenty of question marks, but the Lions still have a lot of opportunities in free agency as well as eight draft picks. There will be several spots on the roster that will rely on inexperienced players stepping up like Willie Young, Riley Reiff, Jason Fox and some of last yearís cornerbacks and linebackers. The Lions have laid a solid foundation in the early part of the offseason to build on, letís see what other pieces they can add.